Hudson county, n.J., woman sentenced to one year in prison
for role in mortgage fraud scheme in northern new jersey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 12, 2012

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Hudson County, N.J., woman was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for her role in various mortgage fraud scams that collectively sought to defraud lenders out of more than $5.5 million and involved 17 New Jersey properties, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Lucilene Guido, 33, of Kearny, N.J., a real estate agent and former loan officer at a northern New Jersey mortgage company, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an Information charging her with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Rodriguez imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Guido was one of three defendants charged by Complaint in connection with a scheme to obtain false bank statements and identification documents from another defendant who produced the documents at their request. Their arrests were part of a larger law enforcement takedown that included 12 real estate agents; four investors; four mortgage consultants; three fraudulent document makers; two accountants; an appraiser; a bank employee; and a mortgage broker.

The defendants sought to obtain fraudulent mortgages for real estate transactions involving prospective purchasers who were not qualified to obtain the loans they were seeking. The defendants made, obtained, and presented to mortgage lenders documents that falsified the purported borrowers’ employment, inflated their income and assets, and provided other fraudulent information. In some cases, those documents included fraudulent W-2 forms; pay stubs; employment verification letters; bank account statements; tax returns; addresses and telephone numbers for borrowers and purported employers; and identification documents such as driver’s licenses and social security cards.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced Guido to three years of supervised release and fined her $1,000.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Edward J. De Fazio, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He thanked the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, the IRS, the U.S. Secret Service, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their important contributions to the investigation. Fishman also thanked the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; the U.S. Social Security Administration; and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlton A. Rugg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.